


Leslie Scissorhands

by PsychoLynx



Category: Edward Scissorhands (1990), Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Crossover, Edward Scissorhands - Fusion, F/M, Friendship, Jeremy Jamm is a Jerk, Romance, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21825097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychoLynx/pseuds/PsychoLynx
Summary: Ben is going door to door surveying for the Parks Department, but what happens when he finds a house with a resident no one has every seen? The house with a yard like a fantasy land and a fantasy gardener to match. The house of Leslie Scissorhands.
Relationships: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Kudos: 6





	1. The Encounter

Ben hopped out of his Saturn, clipboard and pen in hand. Going door to door was one of the duller parts of his job, but it was the reason he was able to secure funding to do the more fun things.  


He made his way up the driveway of a neglected bungalow. The pain had chipped away in most places, the roof was about to implode, and the foreboding stone walls kept out any eyes looking for a new neighbor. The place was overall an uncomfortable weak link in an otherwise idyllic neighborhood.  


Ben rang the doorbell of the ramshackle house, shocked to find it still worked, only to hear a crash from within the home.  


“Hello?” he cried out “Everything okay in there.”  


No response.  


“I’m been Wyatt with Parks and Recreation. I’m taking a census.”  


Ben heard the movement of boxes. He stood for a moment on the porch debating. If someone was hurt in there, he should go in. Then again, he didn’t want to become a victim of misunderstanding if the owner of the home called the police on him.  


He tried knocking “Hello?”  


He heard the movement of boxes again.  


“I’m going to try and come inside now,” Ben tried to door only to find it jammed by boxes.  


Maybe the gate is unlocked.  


Ben made his way to the back yard and opened the rusted gate and entered a fantasy world. Beyond the stone walls were topiaries in the shapes of birds and fish with a rosebush shaped like human hand in the center of it all. The menagerie almost made him forget about the person potentially trapped inside.  


He made his way to the back door to find it already open.  


The inside of the house was nothing like the outside. Shredded newspapers carpeted the floor while boxes filled with holes piled themselves in leaning towers. In the center of what could have been a living room, he two legs sticking out from under a pile of boxes. Ben didn’t hesitate to start moving boxes.  


“Ma’am, can you hear me under there?”  


The legs squirmed as he lifted the box off of her back.  


“Good, I’m here to help.”  


Ben lifted the last box to find a petit figure wrapped in black leather secured by clasps. She turned herself over to reveal a face scarred by cuts.  


That’s when Ben saw the knives.  


Coming straight from the woman’s palms was a contraption securing in place ten-inch blades. Strings secured themselves at her elbows before ending at her shoulders.  


Ben felt his heart begin to race “Hi,” he breathed out “I’m Ben.”  


The woman looked down so that her blond hair covered her face.  


“Do you have a name?”  


“I’m Leslie,” she mumbled like she wasn’t used to speaking.  


“Its nice to meet you, Leslie. Do you know what happened?”  


Leslie shifted “The noise startled me.”  


“I’m sorry about that,” Ben didn’t quite know what to say, “Can I ask you if you’re alone here?”  


She nodded slightly “I’m meant to wait here until Father comes back.”  


Ben’s heart broke. He had no way of knowing how long she had been here. She could have easily been abandoned months ago, and there was no way Ben would let her stay here.  


“How would you like to come home with me?”


	2. Breakfast for Dinner

"My place is a bit of a mess right now,” Don’t say that “But you can stay with me while we figure things out.”  


Leslie entered the beige house. It was quaint with a brownish carpet and a couch. She made her way around the perimeter of the room like she was trying to see it from all angles. She stopped when she found a shelf full of picture frames. The people in them we all smiling and laughing. She stopped on a photo with a woman in white and a man in a blue jersey.  


“Those are my roommates.”  


Leslie tried to pick the frame up with her blades only to have it slip out of her hands. Ben picked it up and placed it gently in Leslie’s palms for her to balance.  


“Their names are April and Andy. It may not look like it, but that’s then on their wedding day.”  


Leslie smiled as she stared.  


“They’re visiting the Grand Canyon right now and won’t be back until tomorrow, so you can stay in their room tonight.”  


“They’re nice,” Leslie said as she tried to put the picture back and ended up dropping it on the carpet.  


Ben made his way to the kitchen and opened the fridge “I’m not sure if you’re hungry, but I have half a calzone I made last night left.”  


He stared at Leslie to find her still wandering around the room.  


“Hey.”  


She perked up.  


“I could always get some takeout for you. I could call JJ’s diner. You like waffles?”  


“I don’t know.”  


Ben pulled his phone out of his pocket “I think you will.”  


* * *

  


Leslie tried to lift the bottle of syrup with her blades, only to have it slip through them.  


“Would you like some help?”  


“I can get it.”  


Ben took a bite of his waffle. Despite her often fruitless effort to lift things, Ben hasn’t felt pity for her yet. He couldn’t quite pinpoint why, though.  


Leslie wedged her blade underneath the lid and forced it off. She put her wrists on each side of the bottle and leaned it over the waffle, releasing a sticky brown waterfall. She smiled with delight as she stabbed a bite of waffle and placed it in her mouth, getting a drop on her lip in the process.  


I guess that’s why.  


* * *

  


April and Andy pulled into their driveway at 2 am. They had opted to plough through it rather than spend money they didn’t have on a hotel. They would just sneak into their room and not wake Ben up.  


They unlocked their door and made their way to their room in a haze, using memory to navigate through the dark. Andy pulled back the covers on his side of the bed then rolled over to cuddle April. She felt smaller than usual. He felt April shift and heard clinking like metal.  


...That’s not right.  


Andy heard the toilet flush. His eyes shot open as he saw light from the window curving across the figure’s chest.  


Andy screamed.  


* * *

  


Ben woke up at the screaming.  


Leslie!  


Ben kept out of bed and ran into the neighboring room to find the light already on. Leslie cowered in the corner with the blades vertical across her chest while Andy paced back and forth behind April trying to calm himself down.  


April was calling someone.  


“She has giant blades and—”  


Ben snatched the phone from April and hung up.  


“What the Hell, Ben!” April tried to keep her normal demeanor, but Ben could see her hand shaking and clenched like she was still holding her phone.  


Ben held the side button of April’s phone and gestured to the woman in the corner “April, Andy, this is Leslie.”  


Leslie lifted her hand and smiled.  


“Leslie is our neighbor, and we are not going to call the police on her,”—Ben handed April her phone back—“We are also going to keep this off so that 911 won’t ping your phone and send the police here.”  


“So you’re allowed to bring her here and put her in my bed, but Orin isn’t allowed at my birthday party?” she snapped.  


“It was a surprise party and I never told him about it!”  


“Hey, guys,” they both turn to Andy to find him unfolding a paper “Snowflake.”  


Leslie smiles and flicked her blades.  


Ben stared at them confused “Those are my tax returns.”


	3. Meeting Ann

Ben awoke to the sound of snipping outside his window. He looked at his phone.  


6:03  


Ben rubbed his eyes. Why would she be up this early? He pulled himself out of bed and looked out the window to find her working on the bush. She looked at him for a second and smiled before continuing on with her work.  


Ben slips on some shoes and makes his way outside.  


“You’re up early,” Ben says as he approaches her.  


“Always am,” she replies without looking up.  


Ben takes a moment to marvel at her cutting. He can’t tell what she’s making quite yet, but the way her blades flicked themselves in such a coordinated way fascinated him.  


“Can I ask what you’re making?”  


“A surprise.”  


Ben grinned. She seemed to be more talkative today. Perhaps she was starting to relax (despite last night).  


“Well, I’m going to make us some breakfast, then.”  


Ben made his way back inside. He didn’t know why he wasn’t afraid of Leslie. He just...wasn’t. Maybe it was because he’d seen how easily she was taken down by the boxes, or maybe it was that strange 

connection he felt with her.  


The doorbell snapped him out of his head.  


Ben made his way to the door to find Ann. He tried to remember when he told Ann where he lived.  


“Ben,” Ann seemed shocked “I April called you too.”  


“Called about what?”  


April pulled out her phone and unlocked it “I got this weird voicemail at three am.”—she put her phone on speaker.  


“Hey, Ann, I just wanted to say that I just made friends with a knife handed woman and she listens to me so, like, watch out and stuff.” The phone beeped.  


“Normally I would just ignore it, but Andy called me a minute later with this.”  


“Ann, I’m here with that knife girl and just wanted to let you know that she won’t kill you unless you turn into a piece of paper. Isn’t that right...No, Leslie, you can’t just nod. It’s a phone you have to talk.”  


Ann clicked her phone off “And that goes on for another 20 minutes while Andy shows her everything on his phone,” she sighed “Ben, is this some viral prank I haven’t heard about yet?”  


“Well, I’m her because I live here, and I haven’t seen a woman with knife hands around,” Ben lied unconvincingly “What are you even doing here this early?”  


“I just got off the late shift at the hospital but wanted to stop by to this out of my system.”  


“It’s nice to see you, but I’m going back to sleep, Bye,” Ben closed the door only to have it slam on Ann’s foot.  


Ann pushed the door open to face “Ben, I can hear the scissors from the street.”  


Ben stared at Ann, unsure of what to say.  


“I’m a nurse,” Ann plead. She wasn’t sure how it was relevant to the situation, but saying it usually got her something.  


“I’ll let you see her, but you can’t tell anybody she’s here; they wouldn’t get it.”  


“Get what?”  


Ben sighed trying to find the words “Leslie doesn’t have scissors attached to her hands; they are her hands. She wasn’t even tried to use them as a weapon yet. This town is great, but—”  


“We burned a magician at the stake for witchcraft in the 70s,” Ann finished “I won’t tell anyone for now, but you can’t keep her here alone forever.”  


Ben was silent for a moment “Let me just take you to her.”  


-  


Leslie cut the last twig from her new topiary. She smiled at her success. She hadn’t gotten to make a new one in ages. Her yard was small, and, in order to get a new bush to make one, she had to let an old one grow out then reshape it.  


She turned when she heard the door open. Ben emerged from the house followed by a new woman with brown hair down her back.  


“Leslie, this is…” Ben stopped at the sight of her bush and made a dumb surprised face “Dragon.”  


Ben marveled at the dragon head emerging from the ground. He looked where Leslie was to find she had moved, revealing more hedges in the shape of an arching back and tail, each dipping in and out of the ground like water.  


“This is Drogon’s head from Game of Thrones,”—he turned to Leslie—“How did you know I liked Game of Thones?”  


Leslie pointed at his shirt. Ben looked down to see Daenerys riding Drogon.  


“You did this overnight? From memory?”  


“This morning.”  


“You did all of this in the last few hours?” Ben gaped “Thank you.”  


The three of them took in the sight of the dragon head for a moment.  


“Well, I’m Ann,” Ann Out her hand out before awkwardly retracting it once she realized “I just want to meet you before work.”  


Ben smiled before it hit him “I need to go call in sick today.”  


“Ben, you go to work. I want to get to know Leslie.”  


“You just did an overnight shift.”  


“I’ll be fine,” Ann turned to Leslie “That is, if Leslie’s fine?”  


Leslie stares for a minute “Okay.”


	4. Topiary

“Ben Wyatt!”  


Ben snapped out of his haze at the sound of Chris.  


“Hey.”  


“You are just in time for our emergency pitch meeting.”  


“I thought there was already a meeting scheduled for today.”  


“Yes, but now there is an emergency.”  


Ben made his way into the conference room to find everybody already there and sitting. Ben could almost laugh at how he was late despite waking up earliest.  


“I have bad news and I have good news,” Chris said as he positioned himself in front of the projector. He pressed the remote and the screen changed to show a dismal graph “The bad news is that Pawnee officially has the ugliest parks in America, and the city is cutting our budget if that doesn’t change. The good news is that we still do not have the ugliest single park. That honor goes to a two acre patch of land by a nuclear power plant in Texas.” Chris kept his grin, and, if Ben didn’t know better, he’d think Chris was dead inside. “Any suggestions?”  


“We sell all the parks for private use,” Ron chimes in “It relieves pressure on this department and the owners can figure out what the consumers want.”  


“Wonderful idea, Ron Swanson.”  


“No,” Tom leaned back in his chair and spoke with his hands “Picture this: stone path, manicured hedges, huge found that, at night, lights up.”  


“What you’re describing, son, is a movie set,” Ron chimed in.  


“Beautification! I love the idea, but our current budget $120.”—Chris turned to Ben—“Ben Wyatt.”  


Ben perked up.  


“You seen lost in thought. Any ideas you wish to share?”  


“On the hedges part,” Ben hesitated. This was definitely too soon to tell them about Leslie.  


Ben became acutely aware of all the eyes on him.  


Keep it vague, he thought.  


“I might know someone who can do topiary.”  


“Fantastic! Cheap, quick, and attractive,” Chris grinned “All in favor?”  


Ayes went around the room.  


“All opposed?”  


“Nay.”  


The room stared at Ron.  


“If bushes were meant to be in the shape of animals, they would grow in the shape of animals.”  


-  


“I’m back,” Ben didn’t even bother going into the house and went straight into the backyard.  


Ann spun around to look at Ben. Something was different about her.  


“Your hair is shorter,” Ben gaped at the sight of Ann’s hair barely above her shoulders.  


“Leslie cut it.”  


Leslie flicked her blades with satisfaction.  


“It’s nice,” Ben took a moment to scan the yard. He was never consciously aware of the yard (unless he needed to mow), and had no idea it could look so nice. The shrubs at the fenceline had become fixed into an elephant while the tree by the back door became a fish.  


“We ran out of bushes,” Leslie beamed at the yard.  


“I can see that.”  


“We wanted you to pick what the one in the front yard would be,” Ann chimed in “It took all my effort to stop her.”  


“They’re wonderful,” Ben made his way over to Leslie “Can you stand with your arms out?” Leslie obliged and Ben put his arms around Leslie. Gradually, she brought her arms in so that the back of her arms touched his back and her shears stuck away from him.  


Leslie closed her eyes and felt Ben’s heart beat.  


“I hope this is okay with you.”  


“It’s perfect.”  


-  


Ann went home to sleep soon after that. She’d been running on coffee and up almost 20 hours. April and Andy were outside messing around with the hedges, and Ben was left cooking with Leslie.  


“You did great today with the hedges,” he said as Leslie stabbed a sponge to wash her blades with.  


“Thank you.”  


“Would you be willing to do a few in the park down the street?”  


Leslie stopped for a moment “I’ve never been to a park.”  


Ben could feel his heart rate rise. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Maybe he was taking things too fast. Maybe he should’ve called someone the moment he found her.  


“I’ll have to take you sometime,” he got back to work but his mind started racking. He said that like he knew she was going to be here. It had only been a day and a half, but having her there felt so natural.  


Ben looked over to find Leslie starting on chopping the vegetables and smiled. However long it lasted, he’d be thankful for this.


	5. Public Art

Ben quickly discovered Leslie was an early bird. It worked out best for him because it meant he could spend time with her before work. It also made it easier to hide Leslie while she worked. The less people awake, the less eyes she had to hide from. 

“So they were thinking about something that really defines Pawnee like—” 

“Cardinal.” 

“A cardinal?” 

“The state bird.”—Leslie put her hands out and framed the shrub—“That’s the head and it’s in a nest.” 

Ben stared but couldn’t see it. “Well, you seem to know what your doing.” 

Leslie got to work, and Ben could see the cardinal emerge within minutes. 

“Wow,” Ben marveled at the flicking of her scissors. He could see her passion as she fixed herself onto the task, working with what she had. 

He smiled her before it dawned on him. 

Oh no, he thought, I’m in love. 

\- 

“So she just did this overnight?” April stared at the bird in the park with a small mass of people. Nobody had advertised the piece, but word travels fast once it’s posted. 

“You saw the ones at the house; this shouldn't be so shocking.” 

“Yeah, well, the ones at the house happened after I went to fork work for a billion hours so,” April ended, but Ben honestly expected to hear something else. 

Ben looked around the park “Where’s Andy?” 

“He went to go tell Chris about this.” 

Ben heart started pounding “You did tell him not to tell Chris about Leslie?” 

April crossed her arms and said nothing. 

That was all the answer he needed. 

\- 

“Chris,” Ben yelled as he ran through city hall. 

“Ben Wyatt,”—Chris pointed—“Just the man I wanted to see.” 

“About the bird bush.” 

“Beautiful work of art,” Chris put his hands on Ben’s shoulders “I would love to meet the artist.” 

“She’s shy.” 

“Don’t worry, Andy showed me a picture. I legally can’t say anything about her disability,” Chris’s demeanor suddenly became darker “But I would recommend you not pursue a relationship with her.” 

“She’s not—” 

“The board are big fans of the bush and are discussing hiring her as a landscaper. If they do, I will have to shoot down any office romance.” 

Ben stared for a minute “Wow, that’s an actual reason. I thought you were gonna say—” 

“And she has knives for hands.” 

“There it is.”

\- 

Ben sat on the couch next to Leslie listening to Perd’s show. She had gotten more comfortable in the past couple of days. 

“It seems Pawnee has its Paintsy with what appears to be a new bush artistically cut to look like a bird.”—Perd put his finger from his ear—“I’m being informed by my producers that the name of artist whose identity is currently unknown is ‘Banksy.’ We will keep you updated as the story develops.” 

“They like them,” Leslie said amazed. 

“They’ll like you when the time comes.” 

Leslie scooted closer to Ben so that they were touching at the hip. 

Ben put his arms around her shoulder cautiously. 

“This is nice,” Leslie whispered into his ear. 

“This is nice,” Ben whispered back. 

\- 

A week went by and each park and a few government buildings had their own topiary. Every night they would watch the news together and see what people thought. 

“After this last topiary The Pawnee Public Arts Commission has issued a reward to anyone who can get them in contact with the artist. Here now, head of the Pawnee Public Arts Commision.” 

The camera cut to a middle aged man “Thank you, Perd. We at the Arts Commision want to give thanks and credit for the person or people doing these works of art.” 

The camera cut back to Perd “This has been Ya Heard? With Perd!” 

Ben turned the TV off at the sound of the outgoing credits. 

“I’d like to meet him.” 

“That’d be fun,” Ben said absently. 

“Ben,”—Leslie shifted from their usual cuddle position to look at Ben—“I would like to go on his show.” 

Ben stared for a minute “Are you sure that’s the best way to do this?” 

“This can’t be forever, Ben.” 

Ben froze. He knew she meant staying in his house and hiding, but, for a moment, he thought he meant the bliss. 

Leslie sighed and dropped her blades “Why did you bring me here?” 

“I couldn’t just leave you alone in that house. It was dangerous with all that stuff.” 

Leslie stared. She had become better with words these past few days, but it became hard when she was frustrated (which only made her more frustrated). “I want to do this.” 

Ben took in her face. The contours around her face and the scars he saw as beauty marks. Nowhere did he see any signs of begging, only certainty. He sighed, knowing he couldn’t say no to her.


	6. Ya Heard? With Perd (and Leslie)!

“If your going to be on TV,” Ann said to Leslie as she sat opposite her “Then you’re going to need some makeup.” 

“Makeup?” 

“It’ll keep you from getting washed out,” Ann opened up a palate “Luckily I know someone who does Avon.” 

Leslie watched the brushes movie as Ann dabbed her face. 

“You are beautiful, and you are going to feel it.” 

“Well you’re a golden butterfly goddess.” 

The two girls went giddy. Ann felt like a teenager. Leslie never was a teenager. 

\- 

Leslie wore a blue tank dress Ann had lent her. It was the only one they could find that she could fit her blades over, and her black suit was still snugly under it. 

They had planned out every situation. They put Leslie’s blades in box and made it look like she was just holding it. On air, he would help her out of the box and answer questions with her. 

They knew it wouldn’t be that easy, but that was the scenario all the contingency plans were based on. 

The producer, a portly man with a five o’clock shadow walked up to the both of them with a notepad. “Alright,” he began uninterested “Can you give me your name?” 

“Leslie.” 

“Do you have a last name?” 

“Nope.” 

“Alright,” the producer handed the note to the TelePrompTer guy. 

So far so good. 

“And now, a woman claiming to be the mysterious artist. I present, on this show, Leslie Knope.” 

Cameras cut so that Leslie, Ben, and Perd were all on screen. 

“Tell me, Leslie, what are you holding?” 

“A box.” 

Perd smiled “That is humor.” 

Ben took a deep breath. It was too late to talk her out of it now. Ben held the box while Leslie slipped her hands out. 

The people behind the cameras gasps and began to whisper while the producer signaled for security to be on standby. 

Perd turned to the camera “It seems that our guest is armed with hand,”—he turned back to Leslie—“Tell me, where are your hands?” 

“These are them,” Ben explained “She isn’t dangerous; she mostly just used them for art.” 

“You heard it here first: Scissorhands uses her scissor hands for scissoring bushes, not hands.” 

\- 

Ben walked into the parks department to find everybody manning the phones. 

“No ma’am we were not aware that she—” 

“I’m sorry your son is afraid but—” 

“The Government doesn’t and shouldn’t control what people do with their time. Good day.” Ron hung up the phone and ran to Ben. “My office, now.” 

Ben made his way to Ron’s office, letting the door close behind him. 

“Ron, if you let me explain—” 

“I like Leslie.” 

Ben paused “Then why were you angry.” 

“I needed a break from the phones,” Ron gestured for Ben to sit. 

Ben complied, nerves still high. 

“Tell me, son, why are you helping Leslie, and don’t give me any of that ‘right thing to do’ crap.” 

Ben thought. 

“Because I think you love her.” 

“I think your right.” 

“When I was married to Tammy II, she may not have had knives for hands, but she did stab me several times”—Ron rolled up his shirt to reveal two stab wounds—“I can safely say that it was unpleasant” Ron lifted a coffee mug that secretly held bourbon “You're loving a porcupine, son. Don’t get stabbed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This chapter is a little short because I took two hours to see Rise of Skywalker instead of write. Hope you enjoyed!


	7. Disapproval

Jeremy Jamm leaned back in his chair at the council meeting. He had this bill in the bag. He presented a good argument on why the lot should be sold to Paunch Burger to become a store and would get paid a hefty fee for doing so by the company. 

Councilman Howser was rambling about something Jamm couldn’t care less about. 

“—and that is why I believe the lot should become a park.” 

Jamm perked up “Excuse me?” 

“There has been significantly higher park attendance since Leslie has begun doing her sculpture. I believe that the lot would be better than an eighth paunch burger.” 

“I second that,” Milton chimes in “It should be the woman cooking, not some corporate sponsored alien.” 

“It’s getting late,” Jamm jumped in. He might not be able to save himself right now, but he might be able to stall “Let’s agree to shelve this until tomorrow.” 

The other council people exchanged affirming glances. 

“Meeting adjourned.” 

\- 

Leslie was tending to the backyard hedges when Ben heard the doorbell. 

Ben rose from the couch with a sigh. Leslie had only been public for a few days now, and he was getting tired of reporters looking for interviews. He looked through the peephole to find a regular looking person. 

“Can I help you?” 

“The name’s Jamm,”—Jamm pointed—“You the guy representing the scissor lady?” 

“I wouldn’t say I represent her.” 

“Listen, I need her to stop. You keep her in the yard, and I put a Paunch Burger on a park. It’s a win win.” 

“How is that a win for us?” 

“Ah,” Jamm gave a devilish grin “You say you don’t represent her, yet you just said ‘us.’” 

“I’m closing the door now.” 

“I tried doing this the easy way!” Jamm yelled at the closed door “And I don’t see why she needs to do the public bushed when you got an uncut one in your front yard.” 

“She’s saving it,” Ben yelled through the door. He waited until he saw the car drive away before he left the door. 

Ben, for once, wished it had been paparazzi. 

\- 

Jamm heard a knock at his office door. He looked up to find an older woman with red hair. 

“Are you councilman Jamm?” 

“That would be me,” Jamm leaned back in his chair. The woman wasn’t his type, but something told him he should listen. 

“I’m Marcia for the Society for Family Stability Foundation, and I’m here to lodge a complaint about that Leslie woman.” 

“Have a seat,” Jamm quickly leaned in. 

“Thank you,” Marcia made herself comfortable “Me and the Foundation discussed it, and we don’t believe that she should be in public areas likely to have children, like parks and Pawnee.” 

“I couldn’t agree more.” 

“She said that she wasn’t dangerous, but she could turn at any moment.” 

“You have a point. In fact, I think you should go on air and voice your concerns to the public.” 

“I’m just so happy I have a councilman who listens.” 

\- 

Perd’s show was not its usual comfort that night. 

“And that is why I believe that she should either remove her knives or be removed from the town,” Marcia said to Perd. 

Perd looked directly into the camera. “You heard it here first folks: approval for our infamous guest are low.” 

Ben turned the TV off. “They’ll come around. You just need to give them time.” 

“I should go home.” 

“Leslie, you don’t have to—” 

“Ben,” Leslie made eye contact “I need to go home.”


	8. Discovery

Ben pulled up to Leslie’s house cautiously. The ride there had stretched itself despite being only a few minutes. Must have been the silence. 

“This is your place,” Ben said, not making eye contact “I guess this is it.” 

“I want you to come in with me, Ben.” 

Ben made eye contact. She had always had that determined look in her eyes, even if she seemed docile, but, this time, there was a fear. Fear of what, Ben couldn’t know. 

“Okay then,” Ben undid their buckles and undid the door for her. 

The yard had only the ghost of abandonment, a twig here and a leaf there, but Leslie snipped the noticeable ones out of instinct from her hedges. 

Her house was as they left it he thinks. If racoons had broken in and scattered everything, there was no way for Ben to notice with the original mess the way it was. 

Ben wordlessly followed Leslie to her kitchen, but it didn’t look like anything would be cooked there. Ben had not seen it before with the wall boxes blocking what would have been an open concept space, but on the counters were molds and sketches of human body parts. 

“What is this place?” 

“Father’s work,” Leslie crossed the room to the silver fridge streaked with deep scratches “I need you to open it and not panic.” 

If there was one way to get Ben to panic, it was prefacing something with a request not to panic. 

“What’s inside the fridge?” 

Leslie hung her head wordlessly. 

Ben shakily grabbed the handle of the fridge. His mind suddenly raced as he thought of how little he really knew Leslie. In one swift motion, he opened the fridge and screamed. 

Inside the claw marked fridge were two cut up hands resting on the eye level shelf. One was only missing a thumb and a few fingers, but the other holes straight through it. 

“I can explain.” 

“You killed somebody!” 

“I did not kill anybody.” 

“Those are human hands.” 

“Those are my hands.” 

Ben’s head shot to Leslie as his heart pounded in his ears. The look in her eyes was indiscernible, but it asked Ben to trust her. 

Leslie lifted her blades in front of her face, almost like she was showing them off to Ben. “After Father left, I waited. Eventually, I tried to attach them myself and…” Leslie choked up. 

Ben took a closer look at the hands. They weren’t bloody or even red where there were ‘cut off.’ No, they had a solid tannish hue that looked unnatural. Ben reached out and poked them. 

“They’re rubber,” Ben commented as he lifted one. 

“Silicon,” Leslie corrected as she put her knives down “Father made them for me.”--Leslie began to tear up-- “I should’ve just waited.” 

"You're..." Ben trailed off, not quite knowing what to call her. 

"Real," Leslie finished "I'm real. I'm real, Ben, you have to believe me." 

“Leslie,” Ben put out his arms “Let me hold you.” 

“I can’t. You’ll just turn out like the hands.” 

“No, I won’t. I trust you.” Ben gently moved her arms away and pressed himself against her torso, letting his chin rest on her head as he wrapped his arms around her. 

She brought her arms in as she sobbed.


	9. Run

Jeremy Jamm was doing everything but work in his office when the phone rang. Typically, he’d ignore it, but the mayor had been on his back about never accepting calls. 

“Jamm.” 

“What am I hearing about a delay in the vote?” the man on the other end yelled. 

Jamm cursed himself. News travelled fast. 

“Relax, relax, everything is under control.” 

“What I heard is that they want that allot it for a park and ruin a prime real estate opportunity for some lady’s shrub show. I just wanted to remind you that no lot means no cash.” 

Jamm thought for a moment 

“I might have a way to Jamm her.” 

\- 

Ben had forgotten to turn the car off—just distracted, he guessed—and they had to walk home. Neither were the most comfortable with the idea of Leslie walking in public, but neither could stay in that house. 

“I shouldn’t have shown you that,” Leslie said, staring down at her knives. 

“It’s better to know then not to know,” Ben smiled as guided her wrist so that it would rest in the crook of his arm “That okay?” 

Leslie nodded. 

“Just like holding hands.” 

Leslie blushed a bit. She hadn’t met many people, so it was easy for her to say that Ben was the nicest guy she’d ever met, though something in the back of her head said it would be the same way if she met everybody. 

They were both so entranced that neither realized the car tailing them. 

“Hey, Scissorhands!” 

Both turned to see Jeremy Jamm exiting his car in nothing but a tee shirt and shorts. 

“You are ruining everything!” Jamm yelled as he approached “Nobody wants another park!” Jamm pushed Ben “We don’t even use the ones we have!” Jamm pushed Ben again. 

“Jamm you don’t want to do this,” Ben said calmly “I’m sure we can come to an agreement—” 

“I tried to reason with you, and all you did was slam the door in my face. Face it, this town doesn’t need you or your scissor bitch!” 

Ben snapped. 

Ben didn’t think about punching Jamm. One minute he was standing there, the next Jamm was applying counterpressure to his cheek and groaning. 

Jamm straightened himself up to reveal that his cheek was busted. 

“You did it this time,” Jamm said seconds before he gave his own week punch. It never actually made contact. It had the right trajectory and everything, but the knuckles instead rammed themselves into a blade. 

Leslie stood between Ben and Jamm with her knives out, staring at the slit knuckles of Jamm. It was nothing like when she tried attaching her hands—they cut, but they never bled. Leslie did an about face toward an equally scared Ben. 

“Leslie,” Ben looked around the neighborhood to find people peering from their front steps of their homes, curious as to the commotion. Ben looked back at Leslie “Run.”


	10. Mob Mentality

Leslie and Ben did not have the chance to watch the news that night, but the Pawnee Today reported this. 

“Breaking News,” Joan Callamezzo read from the teleprompter “I am here with Councilman Jeremy Jamm about his assault by Leslie Scissorhands a mere hour ago.” 

Jamm sat on the couch with his hand already bandaged. 

“I was just driving by, minding my own business when I saw her and her boyfriend on a walk. I decided to get out, say hello,”--Jamm lifted his hand and showed the camera his busted cheak--”Apparently, they didn’t like me interrupting their date.” 

“I have to agree with the Society for Family Stability Foundation and their assessment that Leslie is too dangerous to have in Pawnee.” 

\- 

Ben and Leslie huddled together behind a wall of boxes in Leslie’s house while she shook. 

“Leslie, Leslie, you need to calm down. This is going to work itself.” 

Ben was trying to reassure himself as much as Leslie. The truth was that the town likely wouldn’t accept her. They had barely even accepted her before. They could both hear police patrols looking for her in the streets outside. If they came up short, a mob may even form itself. 

“I never should have let any of this happen,” Ben said weakly as he embraced her, not even caring about her hands at this point “I should’ve just let you stay here. I wasn’t thinking about how the town would react and--” 

“Ben,” Leslie’s eyes met Ben’s, and he saw nothing but content “You didn’t make me leave, you didn’t make me do those hedges, you didn’t make me go on Perd’s show. This isn’t your fault. Don’t you ever think it is.” 

\- 

It was sundown when the mob had formed. Ben had gotten a text from Ann that it had already stopped by his place and hers by sundown. 

This is it, Ben thought, This is how I die. 

\- 

Jeremy Jamm was leading the mob. He thought it made him look like an active member of the community, as if leading a mob would help him when reelection came. 

They had been going door to door looking for Leslie, he and the Foundation. Others had joined them throughout the night, quickly changing their opinions on Leslie once seeing the size of the crowd. 

He’d almost given up when he stumbled upon a ramshackle house with some rather unique shrubbery. 

\- 

Ben and Leslie could hear the mob gather outside as they heard Jamm yelling. 

“Alright guys, this is the last house. If she isn’t here, then she’s already left town.” 

The crowd had no reaction and continued their cacophony. Ben realized he and Leslie were likely the only ones who heard Jamm. 

“Hey!” 

Nothing. 

“Hey, everybody!” 

Ben and Leslie heard a ruckus from the roof. 

“Hey!” they heard from above. 

This time, the crowd quieted. 

“Alright,” Jamm yelled from the roof of the house “if they aren’t in here, then they’ve already left town. All we have to do is--” 

Jeremy Jamm landed in the living room with a pile of wood below him. Dead. 

\- 

Ben left the house through the back door with his head hanging. Approaching a mob was not what he had ever expected to do, let alone addressing one. 

“They’re dead,” Ben held up Leslie’s hand so that the crowd could see “Jamm landed on top of her. It was instant.” 

The crowd was silent for a moment, then a few people flaked off, then there was no one.


	11. Epilogue

Ben didn’t go to either funeral. Nobody blamed him. He had been allowed to keep the hand (something about there being no next of kin), but neither April or Andy every saw it around the house. They just saw an urn sitting on the shelf in his room. 

When he put in his two weeks notice, Chris was the only one trying to stop him. 

“I’ve known you longer than anyone. I have never seen you do anything without a plan, let alone resign.” 

“I was thinking about just packing up the car and driving to Florida. I just need to leave here.” 

“I understand how loss can be and read several books on how to help you in the last few days. You should never make a major life decision after a loss.” 

“I know, I know, but I need to do this. Pawnee…” Ben tried to find the right words “I can’t feel safe here.” 

\- 

His car had everything he owned in the trunk. Any furniture he had he gave to April and Andy (aside from two chairs Ron had made that could disassemble easily). His friends gathered to see him off. 

They all waved until they couldn’t see him anymore. 

When he knew they couldn’t see him, he made a right to a side road, then another right after that. 

\- 

_Ben approached the body cautiously, like it was going to come back and punch him again at any moment. He reached down to feel his neck, bent at an odd angle._

_Nothing._

_Ben turned around to find Leslie staring at the body. For a moment, it was just them and their shock._

_Ben snapped out of his when he heard someone try for the door. The crowd was still there._

_He snapped his head back to Leslie and got on his knees in front of her. She was created from rubber which likely meant…_

_No pulse. Ben put his hand on her neck then double checked by putting a hand on her chest._

_“Leslie, I need you to trust me and give me your hand.”_

_Leslie held out her hand._

_“No, Leslie, I need you to_ detach _your hand.”_

_Leslie stared at her hand while Ben fiddles with it._

_click_

_Ben held Leslie’s claw, taking a moment to stare at the stub left behind._

_“I need you to lay down near Jamm.”_

_Leslie obliged._

_Ben moved Jamm so that he was flat on his back with his arms crossed over his chest._

_“Leslie, if this is going to work, I need you to close your eyes and lay like Jamm. Don’t react unless you know it’s me. Okay?”_

_Leslie nodded._

_“I love you, Leslie,” Ben said as he held her stump._

_“I love you, too.”_

_Ben took a deep breath and slumped his shoulders. He only had one shot, and he had to be convincing._

-

Ben smiled at the woman in the passenger’s seat, at her blond hair, at the curves of her face.

Ben started the car back up. He had grabbed a few things for Leslie that she had asked him to grab (pictures mostly) and some supplies from the kitchen lab.

Ben plugged Gibsonton, Florida into his address. He had heard that it was a town of circus workers and hoped that they would be more accepting of her there.

“You ready?” Ben said as he buckled her seatbelt for her.

“Ready.” Leslie said as she leaned into Ben.

Ben grinned through the kiss. It may have just been in his head, but they felt soft and warm and <i> real <i/>. She was real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my first fic! I told myself this would be a success if one person I didn't know read it, and I only told two people about it. Thank you all!
> 
> Fin!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everybody! This is my first ever fic and I'm happy you read it. I hope you enjoyed. Please review, comment, and all that good stuff. More is on the way!


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